My rainbow lorikeet (around 30 days old) keeps wanting to eat even after his crop is (I'm pretty sure) full enough. I'm scared to overfeed him so I've tempted to err on the side of underfeeding (slightly) than to overfeed.

Since this is my first time really owning & handfeeding a bird*, I do need all the help I can get. With his down feathers so fluffy, it's kind of hard for me to tell, just by looking, how full his crop is. However, when I touch it, it is spongey and there is roundness. If thinking of it in terms of a balloon, where 100% is at the point of the balloon popping and 0% is not inflated, how "hard" should the crop feel? Or is this even the correct way of picturing it?

*I understand that a chick 30 days old is still very young, and that a first time bird owner should probably not be handfeeding, but in my defense, I'm overseas so the standards of pet shops and care are not as stringent; meaning, at times, it is actually better for pets to go to homes at an age deemed "too early" than it is for them to stay in the shop.

yes, he is very young and hes losing precious weeks with his cluthmate I dont think anyone except the breeder who has the whole cluth should be handfeeding, so please be sure if you get a bird again that it is fully weaned.

I believe Kate may have hand-fed lorries. If so, she will be along in a bit with some very good advice for you.

I hand-fed my dusky conure 23 years ago. That is the only hand-feeding experience I have. I do not know how much a baby lory should be eating, and perhaps that depends on the species of lory, anyway. I do know that when they hand-feed the birds in the bird store, the birds continue to beg for a while after they stop feeding them. They don't seem to realize their crops are full for a while.

Do you have any way to weigh the bird daily? I think it will probably be important to keep an eye on its weight gain.

I do know that lories as a whole wean earlier than other types of parrots. Perhaps this is due to their diets? I'm not saying yours is ready to wean at 4 weaks. I don't mean that at all. I just know they wean earlier than most parrots of similar sizes.

Generally, you give them a certain amount of cc's per feed, and you want the crop to be full, but still soft. should be firm and look bloated almost, they should look stuffed and lopsided These pictures may help - the moluccan, the white one, is full - so a stuffed crop. The grey is almost empty, see how it's just barely a bump?

I've never hand-fed a lorikeet, but if I recall correctly they're a little larger than a green cheek, maybe quaker parakeet sized? We used to feed our Quaker's 15-20 cc's per feed. Can you post a picture of your baby, with the crop full, and we can advise you specifically if s/he's full?

A photo would also help with getting a gauge on his development, relative to his age, so we can help with keeping him warm as well.

I understand what you're saying about the pet industry being...i dont want to say poor, but not as... compassionate? I've met many members who come and go in my years on forums and most from South East Asia, especially the Islands, all say the same - many birds are wild caught, are poorly cared for, and people are more concerned with making money than caring for birds or making sure they're healthy. It's a lose-lose situation, as many people's sole income is based on selling these birds and they can come from a very impoverished situation

Kudos to you for taking this little one in. It's not easy to hand-feed, and I've never fed a Lorikeet, so I can only advise based on my experience. We're here to offer all the help we can. One of our members, Kate, is well versed in caring for Lorikeets and I think she has hand-fed some before. I'll ask her to check out this thread and see what advice she can give you.

Hii! Thanks for the help, everyone! I'm pretty sure I have the crop thing down now, thank God.. it helped when I saw a picture of a chick where I could see its crop from the back.. I used to think it was just in the chest area, so I think I did underfeed Nibbles his first meal, but that has been rectified!

Each baby is different on how much they can take at a feed. I have had some really big rainbows. One guy was 220g at 10 weeks. He was huge. Mine usually take between 40ml to 60ml per feed. I don't use a hand raising formula for lorikeets I use what they would be getting as adults as a wet mix. But then I make my own so I know they are getting sufficient nutrition with each meal. Sorry I can't give you my formula as it is secret (I sell it locally) and people have already tried to steal it for themselves. But I have nearly 20 ingredients in the mix. Their mix is also much sweeter than for seed eating birds as in the wild they are nectar and pollen feeders, and pollen is what bees collect to make honey. But don't use honey in their food it is not good for them. My mix has Dextrose Monohydrate (powdered glucose) and raw sugar in it. This is one reason why lorikeets are so hyperactive, their diet is made up with a fairly high sugar content.